Unexpected Snowy Night

Last night was supposed to be a nice, pleasant evening of shopping for me after work. I had my list all made up of the items I needed and where I needed to go to find them all, so at 5:00 I was out the door and on my way! I should have known things never go as planned.

First stop I struck out on a particular Valentine gift I had planned for my sweet husband. No luck, completely sold out and they wouldn't be getting any more in before the holiday. Darn. Next stop, same story. Double darn! So now I sat in the parking lot, adjusting my list.

A detour across town for a birthday gift for my Daddy turned out the same results. Nope, sorry, we don't have it. Another adjustment to my list and a zig zag across town in a different direction, only to find the same story at two more shops! Arrrrgggghhhh! I didn't have this much trouble at Christmas! Sheesh! Another adjustment to my list and off I went to another store.

As I arrived at what seemed like the fifteenth store already, snow started falling out of the sky like big fluffy balls of cotton! Oh goodie, I thought. How pretty. And it was really coming down hard. I grabbed my umbrella and ran into the mall for the last few items on my list.

Two hours later, after I'd walked my little legs off and had surely worn holes in the bottom of my boots, I emerged from the mall laden down with my Valentine/Birthday loot. As I walked out the door, I was shocked to see white stuff everywhere! Thick, fluffy snow was covering every car, bush and tree! The entire parking lot was covered and I suddenly realized I was in BIG TROUBLE MISTER!

Klutz that I am, I sloooooowly walked to the car, hoping all the way that I wouldn't slip and fall and embarrass myself. Then once I was safe at the car I thought to myself, "How in the world are you going to get home? You can't drive in this stuff!" I strapped myself in, said a few prayers, turned off the stereo and backed myself out of my parking spot. Just getting out of the lot proved to be a hair raising experience. I was slipping and sliding all over the place, "Oh Lord!" this and "OHMYGOSH!" that, the whole way. Out on the roads I was white-knuckling it, going 10 miles per hour and praying over and over again, "Please Lord, don't let some yayhoo run me over or pull out in front of me!"

At this point, I figured I better bite the bullet and call home for help. After an ear blistering tongue lashing from you-know-who, it was agreed I should try and get myself to the office and stay put until he came to my rescue. Whew! I was halfway there, so I knew I could make it. Besides, I was practically the only idiot on the roads, so I didn't think I had anything to worry about. Thank God for husbands with four-wheel drive!

Once I was safely at my office, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the snow and relax. I took a few photos and stood on the front porch and watched the flakes flying through the air. At this rate, I thought, surely we'll have 10 feet by morning! An hour and six phone calls later, my sweet Sid finally pulled into the drive. "You would have never made it!" he kept repeating, over and over. It took us another hour to make our way home and we passed several cars and trucks in the ditches along the way.

The forecast today is 80% chance of snow all day, and I'm 100% sure it's already started as I sit here and type this, watching it come down like goose feathers out my window! Oh boy, here we go again!

If

If a picture paints a thousand words
Then why can't I paint you?
The words will never show
The you I've come to know.

If a face could launch a thousand ships
Then where am I to go?
There's no one home but you
And now you've left me too.

And when, my love for life is running dry
You come and pour yourself on me

If a man could be two places at one time
I'd be with you.
Tomorrow and today
Beside you all the way.

If the world should stop revolving
Spinning slowly down to die
I'd spend the end with you
And when the world was through
Then one by one, the stars would all go out
Then you and I, would simply fly away. . .

(lyrics by David Gates, sung by the music group Bread)

Comfort - Joy - Contentment

Is there anything more comforting than a Mother's cool, soft hand on your warm forehead when you're sick? Or arms enveloping you in a loving embrace? How about the feel of your finger encircled by a baby's tiny hand? Or your loved one's thumbs brushing the tears from your cheeks while cupping your face in his gentle hands?

Is there anything more joyful than the sound of a child's laughter? Or a puppy's overwhelming excitedness as he climbs up your chest to lick your face, tail wagging wildly?

Is there anything better than relaxing in silent contentment, hand in hand with the one you love? Or the soft, steady rise and fall of your loved one's breath and the thump of his heart as your hand rests gently on his sleeping chest?

All these feelings of comfort, joy and contentment, I hold deeply within my heart.

Chasing the Buck

Here's a tough message. . .Money is a dead giveaway of what is important to you. It doesn't matter what you say is important to you, your actions always tell the truth.

When you follow the money, you know what someone really loves. Here's a tough exercise. . .Make a list of everything that is important to you - that really matters. That's what you say is important. Now go get your bank and credit card statements and write down where you spend your money. Now you know what's really important to you.

See any difference between the two lists? Maybe it's not a problem, but quite often it is.

From the book by Larry Winget, You're Broke Because You Want To Be.

Puppy Predicament

My husband thinks it's time for us to start looking for a new puppy. Our beloved Jake has been gone for just over a month now, and my eyes still fill with tears just thinking about him. I'm lonely for his companionship and miss his unconditional love. Every night when I come home, I still expect him to bound off the porch with his welcoming bark. When I'm ironing in the laundry room, I still turn around expecting to see him sitting there waiting patiently for a treat and at night, I can almost hear him breathing as he sleeps by the side of our bed.

I feel guilty even considering a new furry addition to our little family. There's no possible way we'll ever be able to replace Jake in our hearts. Will we constantly compare our new puppy to him, expecting it to have the same playful personality he always had? Surely a new puppy could never live up to all that was "Our Jake."

Is it too soon? Do we really think we're ready? I'm not convinced. . . not yet. . .

Spring Delay

I hate it that magazines get delivered a month ahead of time! Already, I'm getting March issues delivered to the house, full of articles encouraging me to get outside and start gardening. Here it is freezing cold outside, the ground is still covered with snow, and a fat, furry groundhog just announced we have another six weeks of Winter. Yet, page after page is filled with bright, cheerful, colorful blooms and tips on growing bountiful veggies and herbs right in your own backyard.

As much as I love gardening, I'm just not ready for all that hard work. I'm still in hibernation mode, hesitant to venture outside of my cozy, warm cocoon. I'm not ready to part with my long, lazy weekends, snuggled up with a good book. Spring will come soon enough, and with it my long, lazy weekends turn into never-ending (but ever rewarding!) work.

There will be weeds to pull, grass to edge, bushes to trim, mulch to spread and endless pallets of flowers to plant. Then once the yard is finished, the porch has pots and planters and flower boxes that need filling. And even then, there's no rest for the weary! The veggie garden needs planning and planting.

We always plan big, but most often fall back on the basic tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, which we can't seem to get enough of. I guess I better start making my lists so when March and the warmer, sunny weather rolls around, I'll be ready to go. Ugh!

Punxsutawney Phil

Yesterday, good old furry Phil saw his shadow, indicating we're in for another six weeks of Winter. When and why did we start this groundhog tradition? And did he really see his shadow? I watched the ceremonies on the news last night, and I didn't see him turn around or glance over his shoulder to see a shadow. Whatever happened to just pulling out the trusty old Farmer's Almanac?

According to the almanac, which farmer's have relied on since the late 1700's, there are 20 signs of a hard winter ahead:

1) thicker than normal corn husks
2) woodpeckers sharing a tree (and let me tell you, they don't share anything!)
3) early arrival of the Snowy Owl
4) early departure of geese and ducks
5) early migration of the Monarch butterfly
6) thick hair on the nape of the cow's neck (applies to horses and donkeys too!)
7) heavy and numerous fogs during the month of August
8) raccoons with thick tails and bright bands
9) mice eating ravenously into the home (we set traps earlier than usual this year)
10) early arrival of crickets on the hearth
11) spiders spinning larger than usual webs and entering house in great numbers (ick)
12) pigs gathering sticks (really?)
13) insects marching a bee line rather than meandering
14) early seclusion of bees within the hive
15) unusual abundance of acorns and walnuts (I can attest to this at our house!)
16) Muskrats burrowing holes high on the river bank
17) "See how high the hornet's nest, 'twill tell how high the snow will rest"
18) narrow orange bank in the middle of the Woolybear caterpillar warns of heavy snow
19) Squirrels gathering nuts early to fortify against a hard winter
20) frequent halos or rings around the sun or moon forecast numerous snow falls

Frosty the Snowman

All this snow we've had has sure been fun for the kids in the area. No school and there's still enough of the white stuff covering the hills for them to slide down on their sleds, tubes and saucers. I saw snowmen gracing the lawns of several homes on my way into work, each one with it's own personality. Short ones, tall ones, some had arms, some didn't, some had hats and scarves, a few were lopsided. One was sitting in a wagon, one in a wheelbarrow. There was even one in the bed of an old, broken down truck. That one took some effort, I'm sure.

Some of the lawns were completely untouched, pristinely sparkling with smooth snow not even a dog had walked through. Picture-postcard perfect! Our lawn would look like that if it weren't for the neighbor's German Shepherd Cowboy, who comes over to see if our dog Jake is back from whatever long vacation he's been on lately. I know he's wondering where in the world his old buddy has gone and when's he coming back?

Then there's the sweet little 8-year old boy that lives next to us that had no one to play in the snow with on Saturday. I saw him out the kitchen window, walking around in the snow by himself and decided to invite him over to our yard to slide down our hill out back. He was thrilled to have someone to entertain him and didn't seem the least bit disappointed to have a playmate at least four times his age!

I encouraged him to climb as high up the hill as he could and assured him I'd catch him when he got down to the bottom. He was a little chicken at first and would only go halfway up, but once he had gone down a time or two and realized I really would catch him, then he got more daring and climbed higher and higher up the hill. The only problem with this for me was the higher he started from, the faster he came flying down and the harder it was for me to catch him! But, the bruised shins were worth it just to hear his laughter and see the huge grin on his rosy-cheeked face. When we both had had enough for the day, he ran home and I went inside to thaw my fingers and toes and to check the extent of the damage to my shins.

My formerly smooth, snow-covered backyard was now dotted with tiny boot tracks and a long winding path from the top of our hill all the way down to the fire pit. The only thing missing was a lopsided snowman! If this snow sticks around, maybe we'll work on that on our next play date!

Hee Ha Ha for the day. . .

A man bought a donkey from a preacher. The preacher told the man that his donkey had been trained in a very unique way. The only way to make the donkey go, was to say, "Hallelujah!" The only way to make the donkey stop, was to say "Amen!"

The man was pleased with his purchase and immediately got on the donkey's back to try out the preacher's instructions. "Hallelujah!" he shouted, and the donkey began to trot down the road. "Amen!" yelled the man, and the donkey immediately stopped. "This is great!" thought the man, and with a "Hallelujah!", he rode off very proud of his new acquisition.

The man traveled for a long time through some mountains. Soon, he found he was heading towards a cliff. He panicked because he couldn't remember the word to make the donkey stop. "Stop!" said the man. "Halt!" he cried. "Whoa!" he moaned. The donkey just kept on going toward the cliff. "Oh no. . . Bible! Church! Please stop!" shouted the man. The donkey was trotting faster and faster and getting closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Finally, in desparation, the man said a prayer. "Please, dear Lord! Please make this donkey stop before we both go off the end of this mountain! In Jesus name I pray, Amen!"

The donkey came to an uprupt stop, just one step from the edge of the cliff.

"Hallelujah!", shouted the man. . . . (ooops!)